Peculiar
by Shotapants
Summary: Marluxia is a high school student, he's a rather strange boy, a lot more then meets the average eye. Luckily for Vexen, a Science Professor at the school, he does not have an average eye. 4/11 and the occasional other pairings such as Larxene/Namine.
1. Chapter 1

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There was an awkward silence in the room; the tall, blond high school teacher glared down at the very late pink-haired student, like an old western staring match. In a cruel twist of irony the teacher, Professor Steele, had just finished lecturing his class on 'respect' for each other, the classrooms and their teachers when Marluxia, the pink-haired student, had burst into the room, ten minutes late and talking loudly into a cellphone.

Now he stood silently, his steps seemingly frozen by the teacher's cold, frightening glare.  
The boys cellphone was still only inches from his ear; realizing it wasn't doing him any favours, he mumbled a goodbye to whoever was on the other end and snapped it shut, tucking it into his pocket.  
Not only was he waiting for some form of punishment, but the rest of the class was as well. There were a few whispers being passed between students, the occasional snicker or mumble of fear for the well liked boy, everyone awaiting the verdict with baited breath.

"Take your seat, Marluxia." Professor Steele instructed, much to the class's disappointment and relief. The student nodded and quickly went to join his friends at the back of the class amidst murmurs of encouragement.  
"I thought he was going to skin you on the spot!" Axel, a rather arrogant red-head with a nasal voice, whispered to the Marluxia the moment he took his seat.  
"It would have been far more amusing," Larxene commented.

These were Marluxia's friends. Well, two of them.  
Not the nicest people, nor the brightest.  
Axel was an obnoxious fire crotch he'd known for the best part of his life. He was a fluke and it was generally perceived to be a miracle that he ever got into high school, though that was probably thanks to is boyfriend, Roxas- A smart boy, no heartbreaker but not unattractive, with unruly blonde flicks and bottomless blue eyes. Marluxia would be lying if he said he'd only ever want Roxas as a friend.  
The same could be said for his Roxas's sister, Namine. More artistic than intelligent but otherwise almost identical to Roxas, with the same deep blue eyes and blond hair, though she kept hers straight and draped over one shoulder.  
She was a gentle, kind-hearted- and even though Marluxia did not have much interest in women, an expectation could (almost) be made for Namine; thankfully, she was already spoken for by Larxene.  
It's safe to assume that their being together caused an up-roar within the student body- not because they were both girls- (that was common in their school-San Francisco was generally considered a homosexual Mecca, after all) -The up-roar was because they were complete and utter opposites.  
Larxene was well known at the school for her ability to make fully grown men cry and her appearance was definitely for those with an acquired taste; she usually had her yellow (rather then blonde) hair gelled back so tightly that a widows peak formed along her forehead, two strands stubbornly breaking free from the gels hold and flicking back like a pair of antennae. Her favourite past time was well known to be playing pranks on freshmen.

Demyx was once one of those freshmen, and one of the few who hadn't transferred to a new school out of fear. Instead he had embraced the saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer', though in his case it was more 'keep your tormentors closer'.  
The hazel haired boy was still utterly terrified of the sadistic prankster, who had picked on him more then anyone else through his first year at high school until he became close friends with Roxas and Axel, more than willing to help them in music classes and to play them music during lunch. The boy was a sweetheart and extremely musically talented, the kind of gift that was granted once every blue moon and with no regard of who was on the receiving end; looking at his surface appearance, a tangle of hazel hair styled into some kind of 'mulhawk', ocean green eyes and a guitar slung over his shoulder constantly Demyx was nothing special. He looked like he belonged with the rest of the group really.

He didn't, but no-one else seemed to mind.

And then there was Marluxia.  
He hadn't yet figured out how to describe himself in a nutshell…'Flaming' was how everyone else described him, though.  
He was peculiar, all right. Intelligent too, but not willing enough to apply it. A natural in a garden he was born with a green thumb but had dropped out of extension botany classes.  
No one would deny that he was pretty either, yet he barely ever got a second glance; his was an androgenous beauty that few people appreciated. The boy always seemed sickly sweet, but had worse mood-swings then a teenage girl. He really was something else, a fact that Professor Vexen Steele and the rest of his classmates would soon come to realize.

"Earth to Marluxia!" Axel called as he waved his hand in front of the boys face.  
"Oh, what?" Marluxia said dumbly, his train of thought jumping the track at Axels distraction.  
"Tell 'em how you nearly got skinned in science today, Mar'!" Larxene chirped up before Axel had the chance, grinning as though it was some big accomplishment to be proud of.  
Roxas, Namine and Demyx watched their pink-haired friend intently, faces falling as he shrugged.  
"I was just late for class, nothing big." he explained.

Axel rolled his eyes, taking a long drag from the cigarette protruding from his thin lips.  
"Nothing big!" he mimicked, the smoke he had inhaled seeping past his lips as he spoke, "The Professor looked like that vain on his forehead was about to burst!"  
Professor Steele didn't even have veins that popped out when he was mad, Marluxia noted to himself. No matter how mad the man got, he never seemed to loose face. Brushing the stray thought aside, Marluxia joined in the laughter; he didn't need Axel asking him question along the lines of 'Where's your head at today?!'.

Lunch ended quickly and one-by-one, the group left, some headed to their classes, others were heading towards the school gates; four periods was enough for one day, they figured. Axel flicked his cigarette away as a teacher shot him a look, starting after the redhead as he made a beeline for the gates. Marluxia stayed seated, kicking the leftover but of Axel's cigarettes between his feet absently and watching the group separate out.

**AC:**

_Aha, I haven't written anything in a very long time, so please, go easy on me!_

_Anyways, this is chapter is mostly just so you can get a feel for the characters, the storyline will start moving along in the next chapter, (which will hopefully be done soon)_

_Please leave me a review!_

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

"Marluxia, shouldn't you be in class?" A rather familiar, serious voice sounded.

At the sound of his name, said one looked up to find Zexion standing a few feet away from him.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Marluxia retorted, though his tone of voice didn't hint to any form of hostility.

Zexion was one of his few exes.

A quiet boy and an outstanding student, especially in Science and English.

"I have a study period." he replied, shifting the heavy books in his arms.

He was rather pretty, really. Small and quaint, or perhaps 'fragile' was the more appropriate word.

His silvery-blue hair curtained the right side of his soft, yet dangerously serious face. Only one of his extraordinary violet eyes was left exposed, and even then a pair of black-framed reading glasses disguised them well.

Zexion had a tiny frame, which was why so many struggled to believe he was sixteen years of age and a genius. He stood level to Marluxia's chest and Marluxia could quite easily wrap a hand around both his wrists, a fact that had always disturbed the pink-haired student.

"You want to go out for coffee, then?" Marluxia suggested, though knew the answer already.

And, surely enough, Zexion shook his head, his slated hair barely moving.

The boy had barely been able to speck to Marluxia up until now. Ever since the break up, even if they had promised to stay friends, it was something the smaller boy just couldn't bear.

"Can I at least walk with you for a while?" Marluxia asked. Determined to spend sometime with the boy, to see how he was doing, because you could never figure out the answer to that just by looking at him. He always appeared placid and distant.

There was a silence. Gods, Marluxia was starting to loathe that sound. Zexion mulled over the offer for a moment, before nodding slightly,

"Sure. I'm only going to the library anyways." Was his flat-tone reply.

With that, Marluxia grabbed for his school bag and pulled himself to his feet, having to jog to catch up with the boy, who was already walking briskly.

They walked in silence. The same awkward silence that had seemingly been haunting Marluxia all day.

But what could he possibly say to start conversation? Small talk was never one of Zexion's strong points. He'd usually respond with a blunt, single-word answer and that would bring all hopes of conversation to a screaming halt.

Desperate for the deafening silence to end, Marluxia opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when someone collided with them.

Zexion fell back into Marluxia, an elbow digging into his stomach, causing the paink-haired boy to topple backwards, the rough concrete grating the exposed skin on his arm, and to make it worse, Zexion soon toppled after him, landing heavily on top of him, the books the smaller boy had had clutched to his chest moments before now lay scattered around them.

"Oh, gods! I'm so sorry!" A man, obviously the culprit, cried, quickly helping to pull Zexion, who was silent in his stunned status, off of Marluxia- whose face was screwed up in agony.

"Marluxia, are you alright?" Slightly dazed, Marluxia looked up to whomever had said his name, for a moment he didn't recognize the angle, sharp face, that was momentarily dripping with concern.

It wasn't until he was pulled upright that he realized that the man apologizing frantically was his Science teacher- Professor Vexen Steele.

Marluxia gawked for a moment as the Professor, a usually well-composed, serious man, apologized over and over again, explaining how he wasn't looking where he was going, he only hushed when he noticed the graze on Marluxia's forearm.

"Oh, Gods, we'd better get that cleaned up..." He said, gently taking Marluxia's arm to look over the damage, Zexion was looking now, too, his stunned silence finally worn off.

"Come on, I'll take you to the nurses office." The Professor said, letting go of his arm.

Marluxia glanced over to Zexion, hoping he would accompany them. The smaller boy knew how uncomfortable Marluxia was around adults, especially teachers. But he showed no sign that he was going with them.

"Sorry, Marluxia. I need to get to the library, I'm tutoring." Zexion said softly, offering a rare, apologetic smile. Marluxia face dropped a little, but he nodded and waved briefly to the slate-haired boy as the teacher led him off towards the office, not that Zexion would have noticed as he quickly rescued his books from the ground.

Professor Steele knocked on the Nurse's door a few times before stepping back and waiting. But there was no answer.

The Professor frowned, an expression that Marluxia saw far too often on the man, most of the time that frown was directed at him, after all.

Now Steele was trying the door handle, only to find it locked. "Hm, she must be on her lunch break." He muttered to himself, before turning back to Marluxia.

"Come on. We'll have to go back to the class room, I have a first aid kit there."

Greaaat. Marluxia thought to himself, but followed after his Professor, looking like a kicked puppy and hoping none of his friends would see him being led around the school like this- a hand clasped lightly over a stinging, bleeding graze, his face twisted in pain and slight embarrassment, tailing along behind one of the grumpiest teachers on campus like some kind of pet.

It wasn't long until Marluxia was being pushed down into a chair, the Professor rummaged through some cupboards, smiling triumphantly as he recovered a plastic green box.

He placed it down on the desk next to Marluxia, flicking it open and finding the required things for the wound. Disinfected, cotton buds and a strip of bandages.

"Okay, this may sting a little, so just hold still, hm?" The Professor said, crouched down to be level with Marluxia's injury, glancing up at the pink-haired student past a pair of glasses that balanced on his nose.

Marluxia nodded, his teeth were gritted as he waited for the sting of disinfectant on broken skin. It was nothing he wasn't already used to. As a child he'd done a whole lot of silly things that had landed him with similar or worse injuries and he some how doubted the Professor would be as clumsy as he had been with applying the disinfectant.

So lost in this train of thought, Marluxia was not nearly as ready for the sting as he seemed- he let out a loud hiss, yanking his arm out of the Professor's grip, a scowl set deep in his brow.

"Fuc-Jeeze, go easy!" he corrected his language quickly, inhaling a deep breathe, regaining his composure and offering his arm back to the professor before letting the huff of air out through his nose as discreetly as possible.

'Steele glanced up at him again, waiting for assurance that he was ready again, the boy nodded and the Professor, more carefully now, wiped a disinfectant-drenched cotton bud over the broken skin.

Marluxia sucked in a deep breath, his face twisting through a range of expressions, but finally settled with one that looked like he'd just sucked on a lemon.

Catching sight of the expression, the Professor hurried with applying the bandages, standing up, packing away the first aid box again and giving Marluxia a small smile,

"There. Is that better?" He asked. His voice was... Different. More silky, rather then his usual serious, stern tone, if Marluxia didn't know better he would have mistaken the tone as affectionate, pushing away the thought, he nodded dumbly, pulling himself to his feet.

"Yeah, Thanks Sir." Marluxia said quietly, "I, uh, better get to class now." He lied, ducking past the teacher, and slipping out the door.

Marluxia lingered in the hallway for a moment, glancing down at the carefully placed bandage on his forearm, the gentle smile and words the Professor had used on instant replay in his head. "Well...That was odd." He said to himself, before the pungent smell of sterilzer that hung thick in the air stated to get to him and he quickly headed outside.

**AC:**

_Wheee Second chapter! It may have just been me used to working at a WTF fast pace, but this chapter took forever to get done! DX;_

_But, uh, here it is! And LOOK! The storyline actually moves a little itty bit Anyways, I hope I don't disappoint with this and the next chapter!_

_Enjoy._


	3. Chapter 3

A few days had passed since the whole incident with Vexen Steele and, naturally, all of Marluxia's friends had found out about it. Apparently- Roxas had been snooping around the corridors and had seen Vexen leading Marluxia around, and had then seen said student leaving the lab with the 'Oddest expression on his face!'. According to Roxas, that is. Marluxia couldn't recall having an 'odd expression' on his face. But then again, he hadn't seen his own face.

For the past two days, Marluxia had been doing nothing but ignoring and dodging remarks and questions about the whole ordeal. It was nothing after all. Just an accident that had been dealt to the way it should have. Well, almost. The professor should have just dumped Marluxia on the school nurse, but she hadn't been there. That's what he kept telling his friends, though none of them believed him. They didn't believe any of it, and Roxas didn't mention anything about the graze on Marluxia's arm, even though he still had the bandage on it!

Marluxia wasn't overly peeved about all this, though, it was so typical of his friends to be complete and utter bastards the one time he doesn't want them to be.

All of this ran through Marluxia's head as he stood outside the Science laboratory door. Staring blankly at it, dreading having to go through it. But why? Like he had been saying for the past three days, anything that had happened between him and Professor Steele was completely innocent. Nothing had happened. Not a thing.

So... Why was he still here? Why hadn't he gone in? Not even he could answer that. Marluxia just stood there, his sleeve shielding the bandage on his forearm and his fringe shielded the small, debating frown on his face.

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes...

Finally, twenty minutes after the bell had rang, Marluxia pushed open the door, sucking in a deep breath and stepping into the class, planning on doing it the same way he always did- Gracefully and shamelessly, like he didn't care if he was late or not.

That was all promptly shot to hell as he collided with an increasing familiar figure. Professor Vexen Steele.

Fuck.

"Oh! Marluxia, you finally decided to join us, then?" The Professor said, taking a step back from Marluxia, who was trying desperately to stop his face from going highlighter-red. "I was just about to come and get you."

"O-Oh, I'm sorry, Sir, I was just... uh..." Marluxia fumbled for words, for an excuse, but nothing came, and he just stood there; his mouth slightly ajar and his wide, deep blue eyes gawking up at the towering blond.

"Take your seat please," Steele said simply, in his normal, stern tone. "And all of you turn to page sixty in your textbooks, please." He added as he took his usual stance in front of the class and Marluxia scurried up to his usual seat at the back of the class.

"Gee, Marly, that was classy." Larxene snickered once he had taken his seat. She really knew how to rub salt into the wound.

The class dragged on, as usual and Marluxia's concentration dipped in and out, as usual. Despite the fact that Marluxia was actually pretty good at Biology, he simply found no interest in it anymore. He'd learned all he wanted to learn from it, so he no longer bothered to pay attention, it wasn't fun. It was just the teacher lecturing, no practical work whatsoever.

"Oi, Mar'!" Axel. Goddamnit Axel. He knew exactly when to distract Marluxia.

"What?" Marluxia hissed, glancing over at the fire crotch.

"You enjoying your little daydream there, hm?" He said, smirking a little, and now Larxene was grinning at something past Marluxia's shoulder.

The pink-haired student frowned at his friends, trailing Larxene's gaze back down to his own book, where his pen still hovered over the page.

In an instant, Marluxia face flushed with the most brilliant shade of red ever, and, just as quickly, he threw himself down on his book, shielding it's contents from his friends, who unfortunately had already taken mental photos of the page.

Marluxia wanted to kick himself, and Larxene and Axel, who were crooning ridiculous things into his ear and snickering lowly. He could see that his cheeks were bright red and could feel his ears burning, they were almost as hot and painful as when Axel had actually set Marluxia's hair on fire and ended up burning the very tips of his ears.

And just what was it that was making Marluxia wish he could just sink into the ground? A name. And just anyone's name; Professor Steele's name, full name and everything. Oh yes, whisked away in his own thoughts, Marluxia had started scrawling down the mans name several times in his exercise book, completely oblivious to his actions, of course.

"Awh, look, Larx', our boy has a cr-" Axel's words were, thankfully, cut off by the bell. Marluxia could have cried for joy at the bells flawless timing, with how loudly the red-head talked, there was no doubting the whole class would have heard him, not to mention the teacher, who was prowling through the aisles and taking in student's work books.

Eventually, the professor reached the back aisle where Axel, Larxene and Marluxia sat.

"You three, I'd like to see your books." He said sternly, holding out his hand for said books. The three glanced over at each other, Marluxia was still haunched over his book, and the other two hadn't even taken out their's.

"Uh... We forgot them." Axel said in one of his less convincing tones.

"That's right sir! Completely forgot them, sorry!" Larxene piped up and stood, grabbing the other two by the back of their collars and quickly dragging them past the teacher, Marluxia still held his own book flat against his chest.

"Wait, Larxene." Steele interrupted their quick get away, catching hold of Marluxia's shoulder, " I need to talk to Marluxia. You two can go, though."

Marluxia felt his face start to burn again, and he quickly turned to his friends, pleading with them to save him. The two of them simply shrugged, and Axel flashed him a grin, reaching to ruffle his hair.

"You're own your own, Mar'" Larxene hummed before they turned and quickly fled the room.

Bastards.

"Right, Marluxia, I need to talk to you," The professor said, leading the student back over to his desk.

"Well, I gathered that." Marluxia said flatly, quickly stuffing his book into his bag.

"Don't get smart. You're not really in trouble." The teacher informed, taking a seat. He lent his elbows on the desk and rested his chin in his hands, looking up at the other past his squared-framed glasses like he had the day he'd bandaged up Marluxia's arm.

"O...Kay. Then, why exactly am I here?" Marluxia said bitterly, arms folded over his chest and his back resting against a wall.

Vexen shifted again, leaning back into his chair now and crossing one leg over the other, "I'm concerned about your grades, Marluxia." he stated.

At this, the pink-haired student frowned, his grades weren't that bad... He was passing, at least. "What about them?"

Yet again, Vexen shifted, but not so much now, just moved to lean his elbow on the chair's arm and then lean his head into his palm.

"Well, I just feel like you're holding back. I've seen some of your work from your previous years, and the quality of your work has defiantly deteriorated over the years, especially in Science. Why is that?"

Now it was Marluxia's turn to shift. He pushed himself off the wall he lent against, turning to the teacher, "Because I'm stupid." Was all he said. And he couldn't quite believe the teacher's reaction. He snorted. yes, snorted. Like the way Axel did when Demyx said something stupid. It was a gross habit, and not one Marluxia would have suspected Vexen to have picked up out of all the teachers in the school.

"What?" Marluxia asked, his tone sounding just a little more huffy then he could have hoped for.

"Marluxia Bliss, I know for a fact that you are not stupid. Now, honestly, what is it that has made you stop working all of a sudden? Don't think I haven't noticed. You haven't picked up a pen in this class for weeks." Marluxia noticed the slight change of tone in the older man's voice. Once again it lost it's sternness, and became softer. Silky.

Quite frankly, it made Marluxia want to open up to the man, tell him that he was simply bored and had completely and utterly lost all motivation for the study. Which doesn't sound like it would be a hard thing to do, really. But it was. Marluxia hated admitting things to 'higher authorities'. He was, well, scared of them and the fact that they had some control over him.

"... Nothing. I'm just stupid." Marluxia repeated. "Can I go now?"

A sigh. But not a dragged out, growlish sigh. Just a normal one, wispy and one Marluxia probably wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't so focused on the older man.

"Fine, fine. You're excused." The professor finally said, waving a hand dismissively in the direction of the door. The pink haired student muttered a thank you, and quickly made for the door, but stopped as the Professor called his name again,

"Yes, sir?"

"I'm not giving up on you, Marluxia. I want you to pass this class with excellence." He said, not looking back at the boy, simply shuffling around some papers and books on his desk.

Marluxia stood silently for a moment, watching the teacher with a skeptically glance, before he nodded slightly, and continued out the door.

"So! What was all that about?" Larxene. Of course. Larxene and Axel had been waiting outside the whole bloody time.

"...My grades." Marluxia said. Frowning a little and shrugging his schoolbag on. "Seriously. That's all he wanted to talk to me about."

Of course, the two didn't believe him and continued to asked endless questions as they walked, until they had to part at the school gates.


	4. Chapter 4

_'I'm not giving up on you, Marluxia'_

_Never_ had that man spoke truer words.

He was, in fact, even more determined then Marluxia had guessed.

Why else would he at Marluxia's work? A small cafe just a few streets down from the school.

Vexen Steele sat at a window seat, seemingly engrossed in a thick book and waiting for someone to come and take his order. That someone was suppose to be Marluxia.

"Demyx, do you think you could deal to that table...?" Marluxia said to his co-worker, who was busy filling a tray with orders.

"Sorry Mar', I've got my hands full." The boy said, gesturing to the tray in his hands before making his way over to the table.

_Damn._

After another short debating moment, Marluxia snatched up his notepad and marched over to the Professor's table.

"Can I take your order?" He said in a tone that he only ever used while at work.

Either way, Vexen recognized the voice and raised his head away from the book.

"Oh, hello Marluxia. I didn't know you worked here." Vexen stated, slipping off his glasses. "I have something for you," A smile. A smile that bothered Marluxia a little, it wasn't one he really wanted from that teacher.

"Can you sit? It doesn't seem that busy at the moment." The professor asked, gesturing to the empty seat across from him.

Now what? He was right, the cafe was starting to empty out. He didn't really have a choice.

So, with a reluctant nod, Marluxia took the offered seat.

They sat in silence for a moment while the Professor cleared away his book, Marluxia avoided looking at him, fiddling with a salt shaker as though he'd never seen one before. Just what was Vexen up too? Had he seen what Marluxia had written all through his book? The pink-haired student felt a small surge of panic come over him, and hoped like hell it wouldn't settle on his face.

"Here," Vexen had something in his hand and he was offering it to Marluxia.

"...What is it?" The student asked, taking the thick pile of papers.

"Work."

_"Work_?" Marluxia repeated dumbly, glancing down at the paper.

"Yes. Extra work for science. It's mostly Biology, but it's a little more advance to what we're learning in class, so it may prove to be a challenge." That smile again. Though this time it wasn't as bothering, it was kind of nice now.

They sat in silence again. Marluxia was reading over the first page and Vexen was watching him, smiling a little more to himself as he did so- Marluxia was rather...Cute when he read. Marluxia probably didn't even notice that he mouthed each word carefully as he read, and he twined his left hand through his mop of pink hair.

"So, do you think you can do it?" 'Steele finally said, tearing his eyes off of the student.

Marluxia nodded a little, glancing up at his teacher.

"Most of it, I think. Will you help me with some of it, though?" It wasn't like he wanted to spend time with the man, of course not. He just needed a few things explained to him. That was all.

"Of course," The Professor said, "How about I meet you here tomorrow and run you through it? Or are you working?"

"No, no. I won't be working tomorrow...Or ever again at this rate. I better go. My manager is glaring daggers..." Marluxia laughed a little, standing up and gathering up the paperwork.

"Okay. I wouldn't want you loosing your job because of me. I'll meet you here tomorrow after school." The Professor said, smiling as he grabbed his satchel and stood up.

Marluxia nodded quickly before, reluctantly, walking over to the counter where his manager waited for him.

The following day, it rained. Not just a light shower, it was _hammering_ down and for a moment, Marluxia could have sworn it was hailing.

His face, ears and fingers ached as he walked, he was soaked down to his bones and never thought he could be so glad to see the little cafe come into view.

He shrugged off his coat, not that it made a difference, he was still dripping wet and shivering.

"Good Gods, Marluxia! What happened?" The Professor exclaimed once said student had taken his seat across from the older man.

"It rained." Marluxia grumbled, combing one hand through his hair to rid any excess water.

"Why didn't you get a ride?" Vexen asked, gesturing for a waiter to come.

"It's only a five minute walk, and I didn't realize the it was raining so heavily." Marluxia huffed quietly. Vexen stayed silent after that, simply waiting for Marluxia to retrieve the paperwork out of his bag.

"Uh, I got a few of them done before I got stuck..." Marluxia mumbled as he finally presented the crumpled sheets to the teacher; thankfully, they hadn't been damaged by the rain, only Marluxia's carelessness.

"Oh, that's good. What parts did you get stuck on?" The Professor asked, leaning over the table to exam his work. "These are very good, Marluxia. Were they too easy?"

Marluxia nodded gingerly, still sorting out the papers he hadn't finished, "It was easy. Not much different from what we've covered in class..."

Vexen's turn to nod.

"I'll see if I can get something harder next time."

_...Next time?_

"Next time...?" Marluxia sounded, frowning suddenly. He thought this was all he would have to do, he didn't want to have to _keep_ doing this boring work!

"Well, yes. This _is_ extra credit work, Marluxia. I'm trying to save you from failing this class." The Professor stated, leaning back in his chair.

"Why?" The pink-haired student asked, setting down the sheets in his hand.

A momentary silence.

Vexen shrugged, "Because I said I would. You're a smart kid, we just to find something the doesn't bore you."

Marluxia held his silence, shifting in his chair.

"So, I'm just a little 'science project' for you?" Marluxia started, "Oh, yes. Let's see if the _brilliant_ Professor Steele can rescue Marluxia from failing miserably in life! No doubt Luxord is taking bets, right?" Marluxia stood now, shoving the papers back into his bag, scowling deeply as he did so.

But- The silly thing was that he wasn't actually upset or angry. He just wanted, _needed_ a reason to dislike Vexen, a reason to get him out of his head.

"Marluxia, please-!" Vexen started and stood as well, trying to catch the students arm and he marched past him, heading for the door.

"Marluxia, wait!"

So he did. Marluxia pulled himself to a halt just before the rain shelter over head ended, and slowly turned to face the older man who had followed him out.

"What?" He growled, folding his arms around himself to secure even a little of his body heat.

"...You'll get sick if you go out in weather like this, dressed like that." Vexen said, glancing over the other, whose clothing were still damp from his last run-in with the weather.

"So?" Marluxia said. The word sounding too pouty and whiney for his liking.

"Look, Marluxia... Despite what _you_ and some of the teachers think, I'm not helping you for some silly project. I just want to help you." That tone of voice again, silky, gentle and oddly caring.

For a moment, Marluxia actually had nothing to say, he simply scoffed and redirected his eyes to a piece of gum stuck to the sidewalk.

They both stood silently for a moment, debating their next moves.

Vexen obviously decided his first. With a small sigh, he slipped off his own jacket and approached the student who stood silent and shivering.

Carefully, Vexen wrapped the garment over Marluxia's shoulder, and tugged the hood up over his damp, pink head.

At that, Marluxia let out a protestant sound, but it ended with that and he slowly looked up at the older Vexen, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips thanks to the soft smile Vexen was offering him.

They stood like that for what felt like a long time, tracing their eyes over each other's faces.

And then Marluxia did something stupid; he leaned up and pressed his lips to the Professor's.

...Or maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, because after a few seconds of holding the awkward kiss, Vexen pressed back. It was a gentle kiss, timid, like if they kissed any deeper one of them would break. Either way, Marluxia leaned into the man, soaking up his warmth, discarding any thoughts that threatened to surface.

After what felt like forever, they pulled apart, and those threatening thoughts broke through, causing Marluxia's head to start spinning.

The younger instantly ducked his head, cheeks scorching and his mind racing for an excuse, for _anything,_ after all, wasn't only moments ago about ready to scream at the man?

"I...I'm so sorry, Marluxia." Said one heard the other say, though he wasn't really listening, the words just bounced off of him.

"I'm just gonna go now. Good night, sir." Marluxia mumbled, moving away from Vexen and into the rain, quickly walking away, suddenly a lot more grateful for the borrowed jacket.

But... What had he just done?


	5. Chapter 5

The bell sounded and the rowdy freshmen filed out of the classroom, leaving Professor Vexen Steele alone, but not for long.

Once the last few freshmen had cleared off down the hall, Marluxia Bliss stood in the doorway, no schoolbag or books, just the jacket he'd borrowed the evening before and the paperwork the professor had given him tucked under his arm.

"Oh, Marluxia. Can I help you...?" Vexen said, glancing over the younger briefly.

"Uhm, I have your jacket. I forgot to give it back last night," The student said, slowly walking over to the Professor's desk, "And I finished all the work you gave me." he added, placing the things in his arms onto the desk.

"_All_ of it?" 'Steele marvelled, leaning forward to look through the work.

"Yeah, I was kinda... Motivated last night." Marluxia said quietly, his cheeks tingeing slightly.

"Marluxia, about that..."

"What about it?"

"We should talk ab-"

"There's nothing to say about it. It was just a kiss, we both enjoyed it, so what?" Marluxia said, looking directly at Vexen, "It only has to happen again if you want it to."

For a moment, the Professor stared up at the other, speechless?

"Marluxia, I could get _fired_ for just that one kiss."

"Only if someone finds out." Marluxia retorted, "Look, I know it was a stupid thing to do, but you kissed back, so I'm not completely at fau-" And there is was again, that gentle kiss, cold lips on warm ones, but it was gone sooner then the last.

"You should probably go..." The Professor said quietly, shuffling papers around his desk.

"Why?"

Vexen was silent for a moment, then he pointed towards the door. Marluxia thought he was being dismissed without another word, but no. The thing Vexen was pointing at was students cued up at the door and just _who_ had their faces pressed to the glass panel in the door?

Larxene and Axel. Grinning like idiots, they had probably seen everything.

"Detention is being held in here today..." Professor Steele noted, giving Marluxia an apologetic look.

"Oh...Damn." The pink-haired student mumbled, "Uh, don't worry about those two, they won't say anything to the other students or teachers, but they might give you a bit of grief."

"Larxene and Axel? That'll be nothing new from them, don't worry. Just get going," Vexen said, smiling a little now.

"Alright, Sir." And with that, Marluxia headed out the door.

"Nice one, Mar'," Axel sniggered lowly as he passed by him.

--

"So, you're doing the science teacher?"

"No, Larxene. I'm not 'doing the science teacher'" Marluxia scoffed into his cell phone.

"That's not what it looked like yesterday, Mar'," Came Larxene's voice again.

"It was _one _kiss." _Two, actually..._ "It's not like he had me pinned to his desk or anything."  
"_That_ would have been hot." Larxene sniggered down the line.

"Just because you're not getting any."

"Shutup."

"Whatever, I have to go to work, come lecture me there." Marluxia said, before flicking his phone shut and tucking it into his pocket.

It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, in fact- his friends found it quite amusing.

--

"Oi, Mar'! Think I could get another coffee here?" Axel shouted from across the cafe.  
"Oh, hush up! You're scaring the customers away, and don't smoke in here! Snub that out!" Marluxia chided as he quickly cleared up a table, "Besides, you've already had three."

"Yeah. And they're all on the house," Axel teased, sniggering lowly.

Marluxia just rolled his eyes and continued to work whilst his friends continued to make loud jokes and generally make themselves look like complete fools.

The pink-haired boy had just finished clearing off the last table when Professor Vexen Steele decided to waltz in, moving to his usual table.

At the sight of him Axel and Larxene abruptly hushed, sending their pink-haired friend not-so-discreet glances ever so often.

Marluxia waved them off, before making his way over to Vexen's usual table.

"Can I help you?" Marluxia said in his work tine, tapping his pen on his notepad.

"Good morning to you, too." Vexen smiled, looking up at the boy.

"...I hope my friends didn't cause you too much trouble yesterday?" The student said, seating himself in the empty chair.

"Oh, no, not really. Actually, I got a few 'well done's and a pat on the back," Vexen chuckled, "I think they were getting the wrong idea."

..._Wrong idea?_

Marluxia blanched a little. Maybe he had gotten it wrong to...?

"What do you mean...?" Marluxia mumbled, feeling his heart sinking down to his stomach.

"Well, like you said, it _was_ just a kiss,"

"But we kissed twice." Marluxia interrupted.

"Well, yes. But they were accidents." Vexen finished quickly.

"_How_ could you 'accidently' lean up and kiss me!?" The pink-haired student protested, officially not caring who heard him.

"Marluxia, please, keep your voice down," Steele chided softly, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache brewing, "Even if the kisses weren't accidental, it can't happen again, I'll get fired if even this slips."

Silently, Marluxia stood up, "Fine," he started, sucking in a breath and looking down at the professor, a small, unnatural frown on his face, "Just don't come back to this cafe anymore." And he turned on his heel and walked away, back to his friends who were giving him a mixed amount of confused expressions.

"That didn't sound good," Axel said lowly, weather it was directed at Larxene, Marluxia or no-one was hard to tell.

"What was that all about?" Larxene asked, stirring a straw through her soda.

Marluxia was quiet for a long moment, before he finally mumbled, "I have...No idea." And it was the truth. Had he won that, or Vexen? Was there even anything to win?

"Well, what'd he say?" Axel. At least Marluxia thought it was Axel, he wasn't really paying attention.

"Something about 'getting the wrong idea," He started, before trying to compose himself. "I dunno. Don't care, either. I have work to do."

--

A few days had dragged by and Marluxia would have loved to say Vexen had disappeared from his mind without a trace, but then he would've been lying.

He was still confused. Debating weather or not Vexen had led him on or had he simply jumped to a conclusion?

He stared at the familiar grey door of the science lab.

He'd avoided class for the best part of the week, and he wanted to do the same today, and maybe he would, maybe in a few seconds he would turn around and walk away.

"Marluxia Bliss."

"Huh?" Said person sounded, swivelling on his heel to find the person who'd said his name, "Oh. _You_. What do _you_ want?" Like he'd expected any different. Vexen Steele. He stood only a few feet away from Marluxia.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" The Professor asked.

"Shouldn't you?" Marluxia retorted.

The Professor was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Yes. I suppose i should be. But _you_ haven't been in class all week. You're not sulking, are you?"

"_Why_ would I be sulking?" The pink-haired student snapped, scowling up at the older man.

The man just sighed, brushing a hand through his hair and taking a step forward.

"Marluxia... I know I was-"

"No! Don't talk to me like that! Don't treat me like one of those stupid, naive school kids who falls for their teacher, I'm not one of them!" the student snapped again, and he could feel face starting to burn.

"Why do you have to be so hostile all the time?" Vexen asked, taking another step.

"Why are you always so calm?" This was far from a winning argument on Marluxia's behalf.

"Marluxia, stop trying to avoid me."

"I'm not." Said one protested, his eyes focused on his shoes.

"Oh, come on Marluxia, you're been avoiding me like the plague..." Vexen chuckled a little, "Even now, you won't look at me." He added, his tone dropping to a soft, sort of sad tone.

"Well_ why_ would you want to see me, anyways? I finished all that work for you, there's nothing more you want." Marluxia retorted and began to walk down the hall, halting when the Professor caught his sleeve,

"Marluxia, don't be difficult, please," Vexen whispered, pulling the student back around until he stood in front of him.

"Aren't you afraid you'll get fired?" Marluxia huffed quietly, tugging his sleeve out of the man's grasp.

"There's no-one here, and I'm not doing anything wrong." The elder retorted, glancing around quickly.

"E-Even so! You said so yourself; you aren't 'interested' in me." Marluxia protested, taking a step away from the teacher.

"Actually, I do believe that I said was, 'I think your friends are getting the wrong idea', I didn't say I wasn't interested, I said I thought your friends were under the impression that we were sleeping together." He informed, "But, fine. I'll leave you be. I have a class to teach." Vexen added turning to head into the class.

"W-Wait!" Marluxia insisted, color creeping into his cheeks, "A-are you... Interested--?" He mumbled timidly.

Vexen was silent for a moment, before taking in a draw of air, "Marluxia...You are... Beautiful and intelligent, you're not like some of the yes-men I've dealt with in the past, you're so... Peculiar. Yes. I am interested. I have been since the day you first stepped into my classroom."

As Vexen spoke, Marluxia found himself more and more speechless, he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, his cheeks smarting.

"-Professor?"

"Call me Vexen. What is it?"

Marluxia nodded, chewing his lip, "Alright. Vexen, do you, uh, wanna go out for dinner or something...?"

"How about I make us dinner? It would be risky if we were to go out." Vexen smiled, stepping towards the class door again. "I'll meet you after your shift tonight?"

"O-okay! I finish at six." Marluxia nodded, "oh, uh, I guess I should come to class, too." He added sheepishly.

"Yes, yes you should." The Professor chuckled, opening and holding the door open for the pink-haired student.

* * *

A/N: WHOO! Updating at school xD;

Anyways, sorry for keeping you waiting for _so_ long for updates- I hope my posting of two chapters makes up for the long wait D: I'll have the next up ASAP!  
Please leave a review?


	6. Chapter 6

Marluxia's shift seem to fly by, the cafe was busy, mostly because Axel, Roxas and Larxene decided to come and visit, naturally they had heard the news and had instantly started poking fun at their pink-haired friend, but he didn't mind.

Axel, Roxas and Larxene didn't leave until they had their chairs taken from beneath them, and even then they continued to stall and protest. Obviously, they wanted to be there when Vexen Steele showed up, but Marluxia, with help from Demyx, managed to get them out in time.

--

Vexen finally showed up half an hour after Marluxia's shift had ended, he apologized frantically, but Marluxia insisted it was okay and they were soon heading back to Vexen's apartment.

"Here, let me take your coat." Vexen said as they stepped into his apartment, "Have a look around, I'll start dinner..." he added on as he slipped Marluxia's coat off of him and hung it on a hook.

"T-Thanks." Marluxia said, following Vexen as he wandered down the hall.

"Bathroom is at the end of the hall, living room is second to the right, and this is the kitchen and dinning room..." Vexen stated as he opened a door and led Marluxia in.

The kitchen was big enough to swing a cat around by its tail and then some. The benches were cold, smooth marble and there wasn't a thing out of order,

"Vexen, this is lovely..." Marluxia said in quiet awe, continuing into the dinning room which was just as stunning; with a large wooden table standing in the centre, matching chairs around it, there was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf to one side and a set of French doors that led out onto a balcony on the other side.

"Thank you, Marluxia." Vexen chuckled as he watched the boy examine the bookshelf, "Do you want a drink?"

The pink-haired boy glanced over to the elder, "Wine?"

"I promise I won't tell your parents" The Professor smiled, earning him a playful huff from the younger before he went to grab two glasses and a bottle.

Marluxia continued to explore, slipping through a door that led him into the living room and possibly the most breath-taking view he'd ever seen. Stunned, Marluxia found himself moving towards the window, smiling to himself and scanning over the scenery.

The sun was just sinking down into the hills, throwing an orange ting over everything, illuminating the clouds that hung lowly in the sky. The parts of the city were the sunlight no longer reached was nearly glowing with the soft tones of lights from stores and homes.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" Vexen said softly as he approached the younger, who jumped a little at his voice, obviously engrossed in what he was seeing.

"Y-yeah, it is..." He mumbled taking the drink Vexen offered him, sipping it timidly. They stood silently for a moment, Marluxia watching the sun slowly inch away, while Vexen watched the way the orange glow it gave off bounce off of Marluxia's soft features.

"...Come on, you can keep me company while I cook." Vexen finally interrupted, gently placing his hand on Marluxia's back and leading him away from the window.

--

In the end, Vexen just ordered pizza after finding it nearly impossible to cook with Marluxia sitting on the bench next to him asking endless questions and poking fun at him the whole time. Though, Vexen actually enjoyed it, even retorted to some of Marluxia's jokes, he really was lucky; not only was Marluxia beautiful (Even when doing an impression of Saix, the history teacher that loathed anyone and anything except the principle.), Marluxia was also smart, funny and...Sweet. No matter what he said, he said it with a light-heart, even when he described his friends in possibly the crudest way possible, it wasn't intended to be hurtful and it didn't sound hurtful, either.

"-Hey, Vex', I think the pizza guy's here." Marluxia piped up, managing to completely de-rail the teacher's chain of thoughts.

"Oh, right. Won't be a sec'" he said quickly, heading out of the kitchen to answer the door. He returned shortly, pizza boxes in hand, "Eat in the living room?"

"Alright," Marluxia smiled, slipping off the counter and leading Vexen into the living room before dropping back onto a couch.

They ate slowly, grazing on the food more then anything. Chatting about anything that came up.

"-So, tell me something about yourself, Vexen. I just realized I barely know a thing," Marluxia stated while he picked off the toppings on his slice of pizza.

"Aha. Me? There's not alot to know about me." Vexen said, fiddling with the stem of his wine glass, "Uhm, I come from a wealthy family, my father couldn't stand me, so he sent me to boarding school, after I got out of there I travelled for a while before finally doing some training to become a teacher, travelled a little more to find a nice school and finally settled here."

Marluxia nodded, nibbling on a piece of meat for a few moments before speaking, " Why the heck did you settle for that school? It's terrible!" He chuckled and took a long sip of his wine, feeling it's warmth travel down to his stomach and finally settle. "Surely you could have taught at some high-class private school? You're a good enough teacher..."

Vexen snorted, shaking his head, "No... I like the school I'm with. Granted, some of the students can be a bit of a handful," He started, "But some are very good, willing to learn, even."

The pink-haired student shrugged a little, leaning back against the couch, "Yeah, I guess so. It's a shame not more a willing, though."

"Of course. But, anyways. I told you about myself, now it's your turn."

Marluxia shifted in his seat, quickly draining his glass and spinning it between his fingers, "Well...I was born here, grew up here, never really been anywhere else but here. My parents only got married because my mom was knocked up. They barely lasted until I was seven, then my dad left. My mom could barely look after me, so I spent alot of time at school, then my mom got a job, no-one really knows what that job is but it puts food on the table, so it doesn't matter to me. I want to move out of my mom's house, but I'm too young, I'm making shit-all money and as you well know, I am starting to fail in school."

Vexen looked as though he was going to say something, but nothing came for a long while, he just sort of... Stared.

"So, uh, yeah. That's my life so far." Marluxia added, smiling a little sheepishly and quickly grabbing for another slice of pizza.

"Well. It's certainly more interesting then mine." Vexen chuckled, standing up, "Want another drink?"

"Please." Marluxia said and Vexen quickly left for the kitchen.

When Vexen came back with two full glasses, Marluxia was at the window again, watching the lights of the city silently.

At the sight, the Professor was hesitant to disrupt the student, he was quite happy to watch him but he must have heard him come in, because he was soon turning to face the older man.

"Are you alright, Marluxia?" He asked quietly, handing over the younger's glass.

"I'm fine. Thanks." He replied quickly, taking a mouthful of the wine once it was in his hand, his cheeks warming and body growing just a little heavier.

"Don't have too much of that, Marluxia." Vexen chided, taking a seat on the couch again and soon finding Marluxia joining him, sitting closer then before, leaning against him.

"I'll be fine... Just a little sleepy." Marluxia mumbled, feeling as though his body was unravelling with each sip.

"Well, you can stay here if you want to..." Vexen said softly, wrapping an arm around the boy carefully, fiddling with a lock of his hair.

"With you...?" Marluxia asked, lifting his head to look at Vexen, who was nodding.

"Or I could call for a taxi?" Marluxia shook his head, nestling in a little closer to the older man,

"No, no... I'll stay here." He smiled softly, feeling his glass being taken from his hand, but he had very little protest, and shortly after he felt something that was growing increasingly familiar- Vexen's lips on his, or was it his lips on Vexen's? He couldn't tell, nor did he care. This kiss was different from the others. Not as timid or careful. It was hungry and feverish.

Marluxia soon found himself parting his lips, begging silently for more as Vexen's hands roamed over him and his own twisted amongst the older man's hair. Vexen carefully pushed Marluxia down onto the couch, ravishing neck and popping open the buttons of his shirt with trained hands, trailing kisses down the smooth flesh whilst Marluxia mewled beneath him, his arms wrapped around his shoulders now, hands fisting around his shirt as Vexen continued his trail downwards...

"W-wait..." Marluxia breathed, "Wait. N-not here," he added, trying to sit up a little.

"R-right, uh, come with me." Vexen said, reluctantly standing and taking Marluxia by the hand.

Soon, it was all happening again, but now they lay on Vexen's bed, their shirts discarded and their pants about to be, though now Vexen was being more gentle, admiring the boy he had beneath him-- whose face was flushed and heart beating so fast Vexen doubted his chest could contain it for much longer.

"Have you ever done this before...?" Vexen asked softly, brushing a few stray strands of pink from Marluxia's face.

"Yes, but I was on top. Unless you mean have I ever done this with a teacher..." He chuckled softly, which earned him a grin from the older man.

"Alright... I was just making sure," Vexen whispered against his ear, nipping at his neck gently before moving to tug off Marluxia's pants and undergarments, quickly disposing of them along with his own.

Marluxia nodded softly, relaxing back into the mattress, a moan slowly easing from his throat.

--lolcensorship--

The next morning, Marluxia was stirred by the sunlight hitting his face. He let out a groan, rolling over in the sheets and squeezing his eyes shut again, but sleep was already lost and he slowly sat up.

He defiantly wasn't in his own room. The pink-haired boy frowned a little, before the memories of last night finally resurfaced.

"Oh..." He mumbled before combing his fingers through his hair and slipping out of bed, quickly grabbing for his boxers and pants.

Vexen was, obviously already up and in the kitchen, he smiled softly when Marluxia emerged, his hair looking more unruly then usual and the happenings of the previous night were visible on his shoulders and neck.

"Good morning." He greeted smoothly, offering the boy a mug.

"Mh, Morning." Marluxia grunted, taking the mug and sniffing the contents, before deciding it was defiantly coffee and taking a long gulp of it.

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah..." Marluxia nodded, leaning back against a bench, "Are you gonna treat me to breakfast?" he asked, putting on a fake pout.

"Of course, go sit down, you must be sore..." Vexen snickered a little which earned him a light slap on the shoulder as Marluxia passed by before he seating himself on a stool that stood near a bench.

After breakfast, Marluxia had a shower and Vexen took the liberty to clean his clothing for him, maybe he did just so he could have a half naked Marluxia around the house for a little while longer? The thought amused Marluxia, but he didn't really mind lazing around in nothing but a bath towel.

"Hey, Marluxia?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to go to work now, I have a few classes this afternoon, you don't mind do you?" Vexen called from his room

"No, not at all," Marluxia called back.

"Oh good. Uh, help yourself to something for lunch, I won't be back until two-ish." The Professor said as he ducked into the living room were Marluxia was, "And your clothing will be dry soon"

"Okay, thanks Vexen." The pink-haired boy nodded and Vexen quickly leaned down to press a kiss to his cheek.

Once Vexen had left, Marluxia felt immensely awkward. Here he was sitting in his teacher's apartment, dressed only in a towel, his shoulders, neck and collar covered in hickeys. The only noise was the sound of the tumble drier going through it's cycle, and once that was done and his clothing were dry, Marluxia scrawled down a note to Vexen on a notepad and left.

--

They didn't see each other again until the following Monday, because Marluxia had Science first period.

He was late, as usual. He had no intention on behaving well just because he'd slept with the teacher, it would seem suspicious if Marluxia's behavior suddenly changed.

And it seemed Vexen agreed, and for being late Marluxia was slapped with a lunch time detention. But he had the oddest feeling that he would actually _enjoy_ this detention.

**--**

**A/N: **8D;; LOOK! I UPDATED!

How long has it been? xD; Like, three months or something?

At first, I wasn't terribly happy with this chapter, but after editing it to death, I think it's half decent. I promise the seventh chapter will be up soon!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** :'D Thank you all so much for the reviews! They make me happy and make me update sooner! /hinthint.

Anyways, I'm sorry for not including smut in this chapter either! I'm trying to avoid it in this fanfic at least, since it's also being posted on dA I'd rather kept it clean-ish. 'The Assistant', however may include some smut at some point. ;3

**-Chapter Seven-**

"I really should go now..." Marluxia slurred reluctantly, pulling his bottom lip from between Vexen's gentle bite. "I have class." The blond man made a childish pout and slipped his hands into the back pockets of Marluxia's pants and drew him closer again.

"Surely you can be just a little late today? Say you had detention? You wouldn't be lying~" Vexen suggested in a rather sly tone as he let his hands fondle the material and flesh beneath them. Marluxia let out a whine.

"So very, very tempting. But if I'm late, I'll get another detention!"

"Let them! You can have all your detentions with me." The blond grinned. It was a grin that was starting to grow on Marluxia, he'd seen a lot of it recently, along with this new cheerful and mischief attitudes of the Professor's. But the answer was still 'no' he decided, and pulled away from the other man and gathered his things. "Alright, alright. Go on. I'll see you tomorrow." Vexen surrender and started to straighten up his own clothing.

"Okay. Seeya." Marluxia said with a small smile and quickly disappeared out the door.

"Do you know what you're doing, Marluxia?" The brisk words hit said one the minute the door shut behind him. Zexion was seemingly waiting for him outside the laboratory with a stern look plastered on his face.

"Uh, going to class?" Was Marluxia's dumbfounded reply. Zexion expression wavered with announce for a moment.

"Not that. With Professor Steele."

"... I have no idea what you're talking about." Possibly the worst lie ever to slip past the strawberry-haired boy's mouth, and he was pretty sure Zexion knew it.

"Marluxia, everyone knows that you and the Professor have been pawing at one another for weeks now." Another waver of announce on the slate-haired boy's account. Marluxia tried to discreetly suck in a deep breath. He knew. That was bad. He screwed up his face a little, scrambling for something to say.

"W-why do you care, anyways?" It was rude, and a little uncalled for, but it was the first thing to pop into his fried-out brain, and it seemed to have touched something in Zexion-- His stern face melted to something akin to concern, and his one violet eye dropped it's attention to the ground.

"I just don't want you getting into trouble, Marluxia." He murmured sullenly. "You could get kicked out of school if someone were to find out. And the Professor would surely be fired on the spot." The taller student pounced on something the slate-haired boy had said.

"That would only happen if someone was to tell on us!" The words came out childishly, even for Marluxia, "If you don't want me getting in trouble, keep it under your hood. Please." He added the last bit with the slightest look of hope in his eyes. Zexion didn't look impressed, his eyes (or at least the one Marluxia could see) jerked up to glare up at him.

"Marluxia you can't continue thi-"

"Please, Zexy!" Marluxia hated to plead, but yet he found himself clutching Zexion's hands in his own. He only then realized how alien it felt to have the other's icy flesh against his own. It had been so long since he last felt it and part of him was sad to find it wasn't something he enjoyed anymore, but it did bring back memories of how Marluxia used to constantly try and warm up Zexion's corpse-esque hands. He had enjoyed it, no matter how much the smaller boy would protest. But now it was different. The circumstances had changed and they no longer doted over one another like they used and Zexion's hands simply felt alien.

"Marluxia, it's not as if you love him or anything. They're going to find out eventually, so why not tell them? Or let me tell them?" Zexion said in a painfully calm voice. Marluxia let go of his hands and let himself seep into thought momentarily.

"I do love him." The hall was so quiet the words seemed to echo back to him.

"...What?" Zexion sounded as though he were about to choke, and he finally lost face.

"I love him, Zexion." Marluxia repeated with as much confidence as ever. "Please, don't say a word to anyone. Now I have to get to class, I don't want anymore detentions today." He spoke hastily and before Zexion could so much as squeak, he was down the corridor and gone.

--

As they had silently promised one another the day before, Vexen and Marluxia met up. They had chosen a small cafe that seemed to centered in the middle of nowhere. But it was cute and comfortable enough. Vexen was chattering quite happily, but to Marluxia his voice was a mere murmur in the back of his mind. He tried to avoid Vexen catching on by nodding and making all the right sounds when he thought he had to, but all he truly heard was the conversation he had had with Zexion the day before. He'd spent a good portion of the night pondering over his last few comments to his ex. Pondering weather or not he should pass a certain one on to Vexen or not. He had obviously slipped to far into thought, because Vexen noticed and was now tugging lightly at his hand.

"--Oh, what?" Marluxia stammered, the train of thought derailing quite 's eyes flickered over the younger man's face.

"What is it?" Vexen asked, narrowing his eyes down on Marluxia slightly.

"Oh, nothing. Just..." He trailed off, frowned, shook his head and smiled up at Vexen. "We should get going now." Vexen let out a small sigh and stood up.

"Fine, act like it's nothing. Let's go." He didn't sound at all impressed, and Marluxia felt a little bad, but bared in mind that right then probably wasn't the best time to drop a bombshell. So they both left the cafe without another word.

It was later then Marluxia had assumed, and the sun was starting to set, causing a rather brilliant shade of pink to spill out across the sky. He probably would have just stood there, gawking if Vexen hadn't have taken his hand and led him away.

The silence still lingered as they were driving. It was obviously bothering Vexen- who kept sighing and glancing over at Marluxia. Marluxia was doing the same, but at different times, avoiding Vexen's eyes, just waiting for the question to come.

_One, two... _

"Marluxia, please. Just tell me what's on your mind?" _Three_. Just on time. Marluxia let out a long sigh again, slumped further into his seat and looked over to the blond.

"Nothing. I already told you that." He retorted, playing the game that was akin to cat-and-mouse. It seemed Vexen was playing a game, too. He was playing the patience game, so no further questions were thrown at the strawberry-haired boy.

_Damn_.

Time dragged on for a little longer, before Marluxia could no longer take it. They stopped at a redlight and Marluxia jumped on the moment. "Vexen-" He started, and when the blond turned to face him, he found he was only mere inches from his face.

"Yes?" Vexen asked, slightly startled. The boy basically pounced on him, throwing his arms around the older man's narrow shoulder's. Then his actions seemed to slow, he inched closer to Vexen's face, gently brushing his lips over the other's.

"M-Marluxia?"

"...I love you." Marluxia said quietly, timidly, as though the words could destroy buildings if they were said any louder. The blond was stunned. He stared into the colbolt blue eyes that were fixed on him so intently, waiting for a reaction. For anything. "I know it sounds crazy, because it's only been such a short time, but I'm just so sure of it." Marluxia explained hasilty, as though if he stopped talking something bad would happen. Vexen was smiling now, lifting his hand to brush a stray strand of pink from the boy's face.

"I love you, too." Vexen said, his tone drenched in confidence. Marluxia was silent, soaking in the words before burying his face into the man's chest. His heart did a back flip at the words, and he found it just a little crazy that the four words could make him feel so... Complete? No. That sounded lame. Happy. Yeah, just...Happy.

--

After that night, Marluxia barely ever left Vexen's side, unless of course they were at school; and even then, Vexen put Marluxia on detention for the smallest of things.

The worry that had tailed after Zexion's words had ebbed away to the back of Marluxia's mind, he was so wrapped up in his own happiness, although just a little fed up with having to lie and dodge questions about what he'd been doing with his spare time. Saying he had extra work hours hardly worked.

--

"You're still seeing him, aren't you?" Marluxia jumped, nearly dropping the coffee and books he had in hand. Zexion had done his famous sneak-up-from-behind trick on him. Damn, he thought he had gotten used to that while they were still dating.

"Uh, uhm... It's none of your business." Oh yeah. Real smooth.

"I know. But I was hoping you would have heeded my words. It's going to cause you nothing but trouble." The slate haired boy shrugged a little. "But, okay. If my words aren't getting through to you, perhaps I will have to de-"  
"No!" Marluxia cut in, whirrling round to face the small male. "Zexion, just... Just stay out of this!" He snapped, turned on his heel again and marched off before the boy could get another word in.

Zexion sighed, and shook his head. Watching the figure dissappear into the English block. "Idiot..."


End file.
